Non Profit State Funding

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Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Welcome the Pulse of the Region,brought to you by the Metro Hartford Alliance.
The Metro Hartford Alliance collaborates with investorsand partners to elevate the Hartford region
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Hartford dot com. Pulse of theRegion is produced in partnership with o'kill.

(00:24):
Originally founded as a school for theblind in eighteen ninety three, OKILL has
provided holistic, person centered services forindividuals with disabilities for over one hundred and
thirty years. With empowerment and independenceas its guiding principles. Okhill works in
partnership with the individuals it serves toprovide residential education and enrichment opportunities. Learn

(00:44):
more at okhillct dot org. Nowhere's your host for Pulse of the Region,
Kate Bowman. Hello, Hello,and welcome back to another episode of
Pulse of the Region. I'm yourhost, Kate Bowman. Here today in
the beautiful iHeartMedia Studios here our capitalcity of Hartford. A great day here
today I have guests sitting looking atme smiling, or at least I'm going

(01:06):
to force them to smile throughout thenext the next thirty minutes or so,
and you know, just really excitedabout the conversation today. Today we were
getting the pulse about state funding fornonprofit organizations and joining the conversation. We
have three guests today. So first, who is i'd say a fairly regular
on the show here from Oak Hillis the President in CEO, Barry Simons.

(01:26):
Hi, Kate, glad to behere, Glad to be here,
and glad to be in person.Like wonderful. I was gonna say,
We've done a lot via phone,so it's lovely to have you in studio
here today. So great, Nothanks, So glad to be here,
glad to be here with Louise onlineand John Carl together. But like you
said, it's so nice to bein person. Definitely, definitely so.

(01:49):
And with that is from Mental HealthConnecticut, we have the President in CEO,
Louise Perez. So, Louise,welcome to Pulse of the Region.
Well, thank you very much forhaving us, and again, thank you
very much for highlighting that's very importantissue in our state. Of course,
no, a lot of important topicsto cover today and you know, to
chime in on that conversation. Ourthird guest today with us is with a

(02:12):
Connecticut community nonprofit alliance. He isthe president and CEO, Giancarlo Casa.
So Jan Carlo, welcome to theshow. Thank you, thank you for
having us, and again thank youfor having this important discussion. Of course,
of course, so before we diveinto everything, you know, just
want to give kind of a briefintroduction or reintroduction to each of your organizations.

(02:34):
Barry, I'll put you on thehot seat first, and hopefully our
listeners by now they should know whoOkill is. But I still always say
there's always something new to learn about. Okay, thanks Gate. And so
we're a specialty healthcare and special educationorganization continuum of care. We provide services
to about thirty thousand people with seventeenhundred employees throughout the state. We're contracted

(02:58):
with many different state departments. Sothat's okay, that's okay. And I
was in a nutshell which we couldprobably go three hours and dive into it,
but perfect. And Jean Carl,can you tell us about the Connecticut
Community Nonprofit Alliance or we are thestatewide association of nonprofits. We are the
product of a merger that happened intwenty sixteen between two other nonprofit organizations.

(03:23):
We do services and programs on behalfand nonprofits just as any statewide association would
do. Okay, but what primarilywe are is the voice of community nonprofits
statewide. We speak on behalf andnonprofits to legislators, to men its officials,
other state leaders, and to themedia. Okay, fantastic, it's

(03:45):
wonderful. And Louise, could youtell us about mental health Connecticut? Absolutely,
mental health Connecticut. So it's celebratingit's one hundred and fifteenth year.
Oh, yes, thank you.We are. Yeah, we made it
through two pandemic mix right, that'svery true. So you know, our

(04:05):
mission is to partner with individuals,families, and communities to create environments that
support long term health and wellness.And of course, without mental health,
it can be no true health.So we work with individuals across the state.
As Barry mentioned, we're also fundedby a variety of different state agencies

(04:27):
as well as received Medicaid Medicare reimbursement, and we serve about fourteen hundred individuals
a year and have a two hundredand fifty employees. Fantastic, and we're
going to talk a little bit,you know, just want to kind of
pull the curtain back a bit ina moment to talk about just the state
funding that each of the organizations receive. But first I think it's so important

(04:51):
just to touch on, you know, kind of the why, and really
it's because the impact of that eachof your organizations have here on our community.
So Louise, I'll talk toss thisquestion to you if you don't mind
kind of at a high level,if you could talk about the impact of
private nonprofits really on the quality oflife really here for our seat. Absolutely,
I think that you know, weare not only provide services as a

(05:14):
safety net for Connecticut's residents, andsafety nets are important because that is really
the fabric by which the quality oflife in Connecticut is so high, and
we're an integral part of our communities, and we also again through supporting our
Connecticut residents, are able to havea huge impact and not only those that

(05:36):
are receiving services, but really overallthe environment in all of our communities.
Okay, perfect no, and certainlysuch a positive there and with that,
you know, each of your organizations, as I mentioned you receive s funding
to continue to do this great work, and Barry, I'm gonna put you
back on the hot seat again,so sorry, you come back on the

(05:57):
show again and again, and that'sthat's what happens. But if you could
talk a little bit about the fundingthat ok Hill receives and really kind of
how are you able to do workbecause of that? Sure? I mean,
we partner with the state. Thestate partners with us. This is
a critical service for the citizens ofConnecticut that need it, the kids that
are in our special ed school,the individuals that are living in our group

(06:19):
homes, that the people who cometo our clinics. UM, you know
all of these things. We haveone hundred and fifty different programs throughout the
state, UM and these are allproviding critical services to people who need them.
And so it's it's a symbiotic relationshipthat we have with the state and
UM it's part of the blessing andthe curse of you know what we do

(06:44):
is that we're in this together.You know that's that you know that in
a nutshell, is how the bulkof our services get funded and how um,
you know, the people that weserve get those services is because of
the relationship with the state. Okay, perfect, thank you for that.
And John Carl, can you talka little bit just kind of how the

(07:04):
funding works for the Connecticut Community NonprofitAlliance. Well, we are primarily supported
by dues by members. Should wedo run a program that has contracts release
work on state projects, but primarilywhat we do on behalf of folks like
Barry and Louise is we fight.We fight for them, okay, for

(07:25):
funding for them at the state level, and we spend a lot of our
time making the case for why itis a nonprofits not just nonprofits as an
entity, not just nonprofits as employeesor employers, but the people who need
their services. We argue about whywhy it is those services are needed and

(07:46):
why funding makes a real difference tothose people. Certainly advocating for people who
you really do have a great need. So that's incredible work you guys are
doing. And Louise would love toalso have you chime in here and just
talk a little bit about the structurefor mental health Connecticut. Sure, I
think that an important point to bemade is that yes, we have this

(08:07):
partnership with the state and it shouldbe a mutually beneficial partnership. But we're
also businesses, right. We maybe private nonprofit in terms of designation,
but we're still businesses and we stillneed to live up to our responsibilities.
And we certainly take our stewardship ofstate funds. I mean, we're taxpayers.

(08:31):
I'm a taxpayer. I expect mystate to make good investments right in
organizations and services that are going toyield the outcomes aren't necessary again to make
sure that people who require those servicesreceive them with the highest quality, but
also in a physically responsible manner.So I think that that is something that

(08:54):
Mental Health Connecticut takes to heart.And not only are we responsible to our
program participants, but we're also responsibleto our employees, right, and making
sure that they're also benefiting. Ifwe don't take care of them, they
can't take care of others is oneof our mottos. Yeah, Noah,
A very good point there, Andyou know, so kind of shifting over

(09:16):
a little bit recently, the twentytwenty three General Assembly session came to a
close for this year or for thespringtime, I guess spring summertime, and
you know, would like to kindof digest a little bit what does that
mean? I think, you know, you come out and you see the
documents upon documents, but you know, Barry would love for you to chime
in really kind of first off,what are some of the positives that you
felt came out of the budget thisyear. Well, you know, I

(09:37):
think the positives are that we didget recognized, you know, as the
budget process was coming to an end, okay, and that was one of
the things that's important. I mean, you know, as Louis said,
we're a business, so we needpredictability in how we can manage the business
right to be able to keep aworkforce that provides essential services. And so

(10:01):
in doing that, you've got tobe able. We're a rate taker,
we are not a rate maker.We can't raise our rates in order that
the state sets those for us.And so to that end, you know,
that's how this you know, asI was saying earlier, the partnership
kind of works, right and soright at the end, Um, you

(10:22):
know, there was there were resourcesput into the budget. They I would
say they weren't enough. On someof my contracts. Um, you know,
I received a seven percent increase withinflation being eight percent increase, but
on other parts of my contract,I got a two and a half percent
increase, okay, And so youknow, even within my own workforce,

(10:45):
I have to balance how do Igive or how do I deal with some
contracts getting you know, significant increasesand others not. And then in the
second year of the budget, youknow, there's zero right now with a
promise to be revisiting. So andthe recognition was there. We do appreciate
that, and we look forward toyou know, further movement and showing the

(11:07):
value of US as services and forour employees being able to you know,
give them the increases they deserve.Yes, that's where a lot of it
does come back to your employees.And you know, it's kind of overall
kind of touched a little bit positives, a little you know of maybe you
know, some areas of losses there, you know, anything else to kind
of chime in just on the overallyou know feedback. I guess kind of

(11:28):
based on the budget. Yeah,I mean, as much as there were
positives, there were also challenges andon losses that came out of the budget
as well. And so you know, to that end where the rates didn't
keep up what the cost of doingbusiness, we have closed programs or we
have you know, beds open andour residential programs we probably have forty beds

(11:48):
that we can't fill right now becausewe don't have the employees there because of
the low rates and the challenges withhiring when you know, Target and Amazon
and everybody else is paying in thetwenty bucks an hour, but our rates
are set in the seventeen dollars anhour. It's a challenge to hire people.

(12:09):
This is really hard work and peoplehave to have a specialty in providing,
you know, and skill set thatallows them to bride that care.
That's probably the challenge. And againthe hope that going into next year's you
know, budget session, we willreceive the attention that's needed. Okay,
so it sounds like a good firststep this time around, and Giancarlo would

(12:31):
love for you to kind of chimein here too and really talk about what
you feel the impact of the sessionwas kind of on overall on community nonprofits.
Yeah, I mean, it's it'svery difficult to talk about this year's
session without putting it in the context. It's an historical context but also current
year context. Very good point.Historically nonprofits haven't had a significant increase in

(12:52):
funding since two thousand and seven,well, they had into between two thousand
and seven and twenty twenty one.The last two years have been a little
bit better. Over that time.Since two thousand and seven, which was
just before the Great Recession started,nonprofits have lost forty six percent of their
buying power. Let means they cando about half as much. Well over

(13:15):
that time. The demand has increasedover that time's we've developed this workforce crisis
that Barry just talked about, andover the last two years we had COVID
to deal with great just a fewthings that have come up. You know,
it's costs have gone up and thefunding has not kept pace with it.

(13:35):
The current year context is that wecame into this year with the state
looking at a three billion dollars surplus. Nonprofits have for years said if not
now, when, well, ifnot when there's a three billion dollars surplus,
then when right. So, eventhough we are pleased that there were
efforts made to provide the increases thatwere there for about half the providers,

(13:58):
those that work with those with intellectualdisabilities, as Barry said, got about
seven percent increase. Other providers abouthalf got to two and a half percent
context of a massive surplus and yearsand years of losing ground to inflation.

(14:18):
That just doesn't do the job right, unfortunately, doesn't cut it. And
percentages in context, you know,as John call said, when you're talking
about somebody who's making fifteen or sixteenbucks an hour, seven percent, it's
not a lot, right. That'sso it's really got to be kept in
context. Right. No, definitelya very good point there, And Louise
will have asked for your you know, to anything additional you'd like to add

(14:39):
in on this and just maybe someof you know, some of the difficulties
that you've been seeing kind of nonprofitshave been facing. Sure. Absolutely,
I think that I want to underscorethe fact that many of the health and
human services organizations are funded through differentstates departments, right, whether it's a
Department of Corrections, whether it's aDepartment mental Health on the Department of Children

(15:03):
and Families on the Department of Housing. So when you actually do an increase
to one part of the system butnot the whole system as a whole,
you're now creating a problem for organizationsto be able to be equitable across the
board. But also in terms ofbeing able to perform the duties under our

(15:24):
contracts. Right, because not allservices are funded through grants. Some of
them are funded through third party reimbursementsthrough Medicaid. So if you don't touch
Medicaid rates, you are leaving thatpart of the business unattended, if you
will and enable. So I thinkthat, you know, unfortunately, what
that comes down to is that youknow, waiting lists are going to go

(15:48):
up and have already been going up. Programs are perhaps going to have to
limit the number of people that theycan serve, and also again on creating
gaps and serves and uh, finally, I think that the other pieces is
that, you know, Connecticut issuch a high cost of living in terms

(16:10):
of both people residents of the statebut also in terms of housing. Uh
and uh if we can't house people, um, then we are not able
to you know again fulfill and givethem the best chance at their recovery.
Right. No, definitely a lotof great points each of you are bringing
up. So I'm going to kindof bring it back to the business community.

(16:32):
You know, is there anything thatwe as a community can do to
kind of help support going forward?Bury any thoughts on that? Yeah,
I mean as a as a businesscommunity. I hope you know it's complicated,
but I hope people pay attention tothem because it's um one of those
things where as businesses we create economicchurn. Um, we buy gas,

(16:55):
we rent buildings, we purchase goodsand services, food, you know,
all kinds of things from the community, as well as durable medical equipment.
I mean, the economic churn thatwe create if we're paid attention to in
a way, and because so muchof our care is medicaid in general,

(17:17):
the federal government is giving the statefifty cents on the dollar for every penny
that's spent on these services. Sotalk about the ability to bring new dollars
into the state. That is justbolstering further economic churn. Right, we
should be looked at as an economicstimulus package that's ready to go to help

(17:37):
the state, to help our employeeswho are all in that you know range
where they also are spenders. Andso the amount of employees that are impacted
and their ability to create economic churnis something that we should be paid attention
to for that as a positive definitely, and certainly so many people being employed.

(17:59):
I mean you've mentioned the numbers foroh, kill. But on Carlo,
I don't know if you can chimein at all, just you know,
for overall and nonprofits, if youhave any kind of numbers on just
what that employee base looks like.Oh, well, for overall nonprofits and
Connecticut employ one hundred and fifteen thousandpeople. Wow, So yeah, let
me underscore that one hundred and fifteenthousand people. It's a significant part of
the state's economy, and community providerslike Barry and Louise are often located in

(18:26):
central cities. The workers often livein those cities. So investing in nonprofits
there's a whole bunch of different things. It helps provide jobs, It helps
provide economic growth in urban areas,and most importantly, I think it helps
provide services to human beings, tomen, women, and children who need

(18:48):
help in Connecticut. Definitely, novery good point there. And you know,
as we look kind of towards theend of twenty twenty three on Carlo,
and you know, kind of beyondthat is you know, what do
you feel kind of nonprofits? Andwe've talked certainly a bit on the money
side, but is there anything elsekind of from a support side that you
feel would be very helpful within thenext you know, shorter term future.
I would say, yeah, Imean, you know, it's it all

(19:11):
comes back to the funding unfortunately.Right, it's all about the money.
We can't get away Withever. Idon't think you don't have the money.
You can't hire people. If youcan't hire people, you can't provide the
services. Something like seventy percent ofthe cost of running an operation is personnel.
So if you if you get money, you hire someone, they provide
services and a human being gets help. Right, it's impossible to talk about

(19:36):
it without talking about that. Weare. We got a nonprofit army out
there. We got a hundred fiftthousand people. We got people who get
services. We have people who siton boards of directors, and our job
as a statewide association is to bringthose people together and to fight. Right.
We fought this year. We broughtlots of people to the capitol this

(19:59):
year. We'll to continue to dothat. We will never stop fighting.
It's why we exist and we're goingto keep talking about the issues until nonprofits
get what they deserve. And bynonprofits, I mean the people who need
nonprofits. Right, Yes, no, very very well said there, And
you know Luis would love kind ofas we look ahead and you know,
really the focus of your work willkind of, you know, transition a

(20:22):
little bit to this, but reallydoes include a lot in the workplace culture.
So we're talking employees, we're talkingthen also to that workplace culture and
you know, from your vantage pointas companies kind of look now at the
future for their employees in addition tosome of the wages that we talked about
today, but there's a lot ofother things happening here now. Is you
know, how should really employers focuson the importance of having kind of a

(20:45):
mentally healthy workplace And we'd love toget your thoughts there. Absolutely known that
has been a shift in focus formany organizations. Mental Connecticut has a program
called the Collaborative, which is partneringwith employers that don't just want to check
off the box right Oh yeah,we provide the ap and that covers it

(21:08):
all, or you know, weprovide two trainings a year. Now,
these are organizations that are actually reallylooking and this is national best practices.
They're actually looking at everything from theirum policies, procedures, trainings for all
levels of employees so that they cancreate an environment that is conducive to people

(21:34):
feeling included and that it's equitable,because without equity and inclusion, you're not
going to have a mentally healthy workenvironment, right, definitely. So what
are some of the programs in additionto the collaborative that you guys are looking
to kind of execute this year andinto twenty twenty four. Yeah, we

(21:56):
can. You know, the communityeducation is a really important piece of our
work. We believe that well informedconsumers can then make the right decisions,
be able to identify what their needsare earlier on or upstream. So we

(22:17):
know that the cost of healthcare onceyou get downstream is going to be much
more expensive and much much more difficultto mitigate. So so we have a
variety of webinars. We provide mentalhealth first aid for organizations, businesses.
We also have just entered into anew relationship with a Hispanic health counsel in

(22:47):
Hartford. Nice. Yes, they'veopened a family Wellness center and we will
be part of the group of differentorganizations including the Village for Some Children,
Hartford Healthcare, Goodwin College, toaddress the social determinants of health for not

(23:08):
just individuals, but for families inthe community. In Hartford fantastic and where
could people go to learn more aboutthis program and others? So for Mental
Health Connecticut, it's MHC at MHCONNdot org. Fantastic, all right,

(23:30):
and look ahead for Okell. AsI mentioned at the top of the show,
which I always say, there's alwayssomething new you're learning about, okill,
And certainly I think there's a lotof new innovations kind of coming up
in your programming. So Barry wouldlove if you could highlight some of these.
Sure, one of the newest thingswe're doing is we're creating a co
occurring residential program that's supposed to betransitional in nature for individuals who have intellectual

(23:53):
developmental disabilities and mental health issues.Okay, right now, the state sends
a lot of people down to Floridaand other places where it has not supported,
you know, the creation of programminghere in Connecticut. But utilizing these
dollars at the state sends out ofstate to be creating programs here in state

(24:15):
is a wise investment in those dollars. So we're moving forward with that.
Where trans're the Department of Developmental Servicesis in itself working on transformation, so
it's actually utilizing some programming best practicesfrom other areas mental health or DCF that

(24:37):
are programming that works in the statein the community, and it's now utilizing
some of those models within its programmingthat it's willing to pay for. So
taking those practices and utilizing them inthe DD world is something that's going to
create great opportunity for people so thatthey don't have to live in a group

(24:57):
home and experience supported apartment, superviseddepartment, assertive community treatments, all these
kinds of services that are utilized inother parts of the state human service system.
Okay, fantastic, it's great tohear. And where can people go
to learn more about okill? Sookillct dot org is the best place to

(25:17):
go clean and easy. I likeit. And now yeah, and Carlos,
you know you look ahead. Wekind of talked a little bit about
nonprofits as a whole. We're reallykind of you know, what's next for
the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance, whichI never going to be able to say
that three times fast, but Idon't know if you've mastered it yet.
First way to get to their website. We're going to continue to fight nonprofits.

(25:41):
I think he heard a bit fromBarry and from Luis today about the
kind of services they provide to peoplewith intellectual and developmental disabilities, for people
with mental health needs. There arealso people are nonprofits that provide substance abuse
treatment. There are groups that helpfolks who are moving from incarceration back to
their communities. They need skills tobecome productive members of society. Again,

(26:06):
that's what they want, and wewant to help them do that. Nonprofits
provide housing to the homeless. Theyprovide food to people who are hungry,
and shelter to people who need it. They provide a lot of services at
people in Connecticut think of when theythink of a social safety net. Okay,
we said earlier earlier that the safetynet has a big impact on the

(26:29):
quality of life in Connecticut. Ifyou don't have a good quality of life,
you can attract businesses to Connecticut.If you don't have a good if
you don't have cultural organizations, forinstance, who's going to want to bring
their business here and live here.Right. Nonprofits to do a lot to
make Connecticut the place it is,and we're going to keep speaking for them.
Great. No, that's extremely wellsaid. It's like we almost teed

(26:52):
you up exactly kind of the workthe Metro Heart for Alliance does so you
didn't even know, young girl.The TF so perfect and where can people
will go to learn more information?We are at CT nonprofit Alliance dot org.
Okay, fantastic, not as badas I anticipated with the Connecticut Okay,
perfect, perfect, Well, thankyou all so much for the conversation

(27:12):
today. And we do have acouple minutes left. So whenever we do
that, I like to throw ina little bit of a wild card because
at the end of the day,we're trying to promote all the great things
that are happening here in the region, and you know, would love to
get from each of you is kindof what do you love most about living?
And we're working here in the regionand Barry, you know, going
back to you to get things off. So, I mean what I love

(27:34):
about being in this region is almostreflected here in the show. I mean,
it's the camaraderie, it's the factthat we have our relationships with each
other. The unique thing about thearea is that, you know, there's
a lot of things, there's alot of positive things that are happening right
and because of its size, youknow, you know, you know,

(27:55):
everybody that's involved. The ability tohave those relationships, the ability to convene
with each other and you know,keep those relationships solid and share information is
just such a wonderful thing about beingin the Hertford region. Definitely invaluable and
something I think sometimes we take forgranted. A lot of markets don't have
that, So thank you for bringingthat up. And Louise, how about

(28:15):
yourself can go go anywhere, butyou know, kind of what would do
you love most about being here inthe region. Well, you know,
I'm a transplant, so my familymoved from Puerto Rico back in nineteen seventy
four and a huge increase in termsof acceptance of other cultures. And I

(28:38):
think that that's really special in termsof what the Hertford region brings onto the
table because it does give opportunity todifferent individuals. It also enriches h you
know, both through the art aswell as learning about each other's cultures.
And I just think it's a terrificplace to live. To offer that reason

(29:00):
perfect No, I love it welsgetting all these great, good, different
answers, So young Carla will beput you on the spot now too.
For the for your thoughts here.Well, I grew up in New Britain,
I'm from this region. I thinkthat the rich cultural life that we
have here, the diversity of interestsand of people. You know, this

(29:21):
is going to sound like I perbly, but I believe that it's true.
I think ninety nine percent of thepeople who have walked this planet I would
like to live in a place thathas things like Connecticut has. This region
really is a focal point for that. I love it. Thank you so
much for jan Carla Barry and Louisefor being on the show today, and
really for the work each of yourorganizations are doing day in and day out

(29:45):
to your teams. Certainly a lotof I'm sure tireless days and tireless nights,
but certainly really benefiting our entire community, in our entire state. So
thank you guys. Thank you Kate, of course, of course, and
as we close out the show today, we would like to welcome a new
investor to the Metro Heartford Alliance.We refer to our members as investors because

(30:06):
they're investing in the work we're doingto promote the region. So today we
welcome Global Atlantic Financial Group as anew Leadership Investor at the MHA. Global
Atlantic Financial Group is a leading insurancecompany meeting the retirement and life insurance needs
of individuals and institutions. With astrong financial foundation and risk and investment management
expertise, the company delivers tailored solutionsto create more secure financial futures. So

(30:33):
welcome Global Atlantic and for all thedetails about today's show, you can visit
Metrohartford dot com. We'd like tosay thank you as always to our partner
Oak Hill, and thanks to youfor listening. I'm Kate Ballman. Go
out and make today a good dayhere in Connecticut.